Bladed surgical tools such as scalpels are widely used for both open surgery and minimally invasive surgery. In the case of open surgery the angle of the bade and the position of the tool in the hands of the surgeon together supply the physician with direct knowledge of the properties of the tissue and blade interaction. However much of this surgical “feel” is lost when minimally invasive surgical approaches are undertaken, or when the geometry of the dissection forces the user to a remote hand position.
When surgical instruments are inserted through ports and observed with a camera much of the direct visual and tactile feedback is lost or reduced. This is a drawback to minimally invasive or laparoscopic surgeries.
For these reasons among others there is a need to improve the haptic properties of surgical tools.